10 Months and counting

Apparently, babies don't know about Daylight Savings Time. Miller is a little reluctant to spring forward. However, he does sleep 10-11 hours each night so I'm not really complaining. It looks like we're going to have to ooch him forward, about 15 mins per evening until we get back to a decent bedtime.

So here's what's happening right now with MLP:

He's making progress, albeit slowly. Think of him like a road trip where you stop to see all of the roadside attractions, eat at the the best dives, take pictures in front of the 'Historic Landmarks'. He's headed in the right direction, but he's taking his time and celebrating the journey. He's such a happy little guy, which makes us happy parents. It's not always easy to play wait and see, but we are very encouraged by the past 10 months and really, we have no choice. All kids are different, develop at different paces, thrive in different ways. And there's not much info on 26 1/2 weekers with grade IV IVH's. Especially on little ones doing as well as Miller.

On Thursday we saw Dr. Mirrop. It looks like MLP is having a little growth spurt which would explain why he looks like The Hulk in some of his jammies all of a sudden. In three weeks he grew almost an inch! Dr. M says we need to pay close attention to his motor skills and a few other things, but he's still not terribly worried about MLP. He referred us to a neurologist to check in on Miller's development, etc. As always, he was really impressed with his social skills and a host of other things he does that remain unexplained for the time being. He's also really proud of Miller for wearing his glasses! I don't think he wears them enough, but that's really more because of circumstance than anything. I don't really think he minds them at all.

Lately Miller has developed a little bit of separation anxiety. By that I mean if your name isn't 'momma', then you can jump off a bridge. Although it is incredibly sweet, it's also a bit sour at times. This comes at an inconvenient time since we just started having a sitter come twice a week for a few hours. Miller's new friend Samara (sitter) is very patient with him though, and seems to be relatively unfazed.

This weekend Danny hung Miller's Little Tikes swing. It's so cute! Miller has a love/hate relationship with it right now, or rather love/frightened. Mostly he chewed on the strap.

Everyone asks about Misa + Moli and how they are with Miller. Miraculously, they leave his toys alone. And until recently they have stayed away from him altogether. Miller has begun to show interest in them and vice versa. He giggles when they come up to him and loves it when they try to sniff him or kiss him.

Carson Lee

Here she is, Miss Carson Lee! What a little heart melter. See? I was not exaggerating about her hairdo at all. You get a pretty good idea from this picture, but in person it's even more evident. Momma + Baby are home safe with Dad and now begins a new chapter. Cousins. I just love it! It's such a special relationship. I am already dreaming about all the fun we'll have, and all the trouble they'll get into together. The memories we'll make.

Welcome Carson Lee Young-Peoples!

Miller has a new cousin! Miss Carson Lee Young-Peoples. She looks like a little pixie fairy. I haven't seen her wings yet, but I am certain they are there! Carson was born on Thursday evening and was 6lbs, 12 oz. She has her momma's lips for sure, and I think she has her cute lil nose too. She was born with the best hairdo I have ever seen on a baby. No really. She has a full head of hair, and it's perfectly layered, in a pretty little pixie cut. I have never seen anything like it. I really haven't seen that much hair on a 2 yr old to be honest. It's adorable! Oh and it's really light brown, with blond highlights. She was also born with a perfect little manicure. Her nails look like they've been filed and rounded...already a perfect little lady. I really think she stopped at the beauty salon up in Heaven on Thurs-must have know it was going to be her birthday!

I will post photos very soon. Carson + Momma should be home in a day or two and we can't wait! To those who are wondering about the middle name Lee-There are two grandfathers in the family (on both sides) named Lee, who were very special to everyone. In addition, Paula's middle name is Lee, and Carson +Miller's uncle Jonny's middle name is Lee. I have no idea if any other children will share in this namesake, but the Lee's in our lives mean a lot to us!

Photos soon-promise!

Yes, They Are Real!

I wonder how many millions of times I'll answer that question? Today it was less than 10. These pictures are from last night, Miller's first night with his hip new glasses. I couldn't resist the hat. It was just too cute. He's giving me 'the lip' here, which always makes me laugh. He's actually doing pretty well with his new specs. I am so proud of him! I, on the other hand, am already tired of them. He's teething so he always has his little paws in his mouth-which is an inch and a half from his glasses. Constant sliming of the specs ensues. They seem a tiny bit too big, but the others were too small and his head is growing steadily.

Today we ventured out to Le Garage Sale with Kristen. MLP did not want anything to do with his stroller, so Mama Kristen pushed it around while she power shopped. I carried Miller so he could flirt, and stare at all the new things he can see so much better now. He seems to be in awe of everything, which is cool to see. I'm proud of me too. I was brave enough to venture out immediately, so now I won't be a Nervous Nellie. It's going to be a challenge, but they are a blessing. They'll be impossible to keep clean. He's going to throw them. He's going to scratch them. He's going to lose them. In the end, as long as they keep him from having surgery or losing sight in one eye, they're worth it.

My Funny Valentine

Obviously, these are mine. MLP gets his in a few days and I promise to post pics as soon as he gets them. I'm scared he won't like them. I'm scared I picked the wrong color. I picked grey because they didn't have brown and the other colors were too circus-y. Bright blue, green, pink. Yeah, no. I can't worry about it. He's healthy, he's happy, we're good.

Today we had our 6/9 month checkup, although Miller is actually closer to 10 months. He's doing great! At 17lbs even and 25.5 inches, he's somewhere near the 50th percentile for his corrected age. Dr. Mirrop is encouraged by his development and of course, his social skills. He obviously gets this from his momma. He even said that at this point he does not even consider Miller to be 'delayed', and that he falls inside the spectrum of a full term 6-7 month old. This doesn't mean that he's leading the pack, but it is awesome to hear!! So we'll just keep on doing what we're doing, and tackle any issues if they arise.

We have also been released from house arrest! This is huge. We've been sneaking out a bit over the last couple of weeks, but only to safe places. So we'll be getting out more and more, especially when we hear that RSV season is officially over.

This has been by far, my best Valentine's Day ever. Nothing spectacular happened. No fireworks. No roses even. No set menu at a fancy restaurant. In fact, we had a frozen pizza for dinner! Right now, the world is just right. I think it's because we're so in love with the Miller Man and all that he's brought to our world. He's our Be-Fri. Our Funny Valentine.

All The Better To See You With, My Dear

Ok so I have been a schlep when it comes to posting, but for awhile there just wasn't much news. With RSV looming, we just holed up for the winter and stayed cozy at home. Good news though, the RSV cases are dropping significantly so it looks like we'll have one more shot next month and be done with it. I do need to get some things in writing though, even if it's just for MLP to look back on when he's older.

I planned to post later this week b/c week have a Pedi appt on Thurs, but this just couldn't wait. So for the last few weeks I have noticed Miller crossing his eyes, or at least one eye seemed to be drifting inward when he would focus on something very close to him. It has been happening intermittently, so the doctor's office said not to worry and just wait until his checkup. We went to see the eye doctor today. After dilating his little eyeballs and waiting about a million years for the doc to come back, lo and behold, he is extremely farsighted and the eye-crossing (strabismus) is a direct result of this. And he needs glasses. Baby glasses. Not 'one day', TODAY.

At first I was a little shocked. I had never considered this. I was hoping that the doc didn't notice the frozen smile on my face, and if she did, well, she was gracious. I had a mental conversation with myself, drowning out the details of which I am sure she had to repeat moments later. Mental conversation consisted of mini-pep talk, reminding Self about how lucky we are that MLP is such a happy healthy little monkey and how great it is that we are where we are. Deep breath. Ok, great! Big eyes, big smile. Where do we go? Next door, they'll be ready in 3-5 days. I'm not going to lie. The thought of my little sweetheart wearing glasses made me giggle, and then tear up at the same time. I am just so used to his sweet little face and well, this is just something new. I decided that it's going to be funny, and cute, and silly, and endearing...and necessary, of course. So off we went to size him up and pick out his frames.

The Details:
MLP's going to be wearing glasses for a while. Until he's old enough for contacts (if he wants them). When he's 18-20 he can get Lasik, or whatever they're doing then. Omigosh, I'll be in my 50's then. The picture to the left shows a little lovey dove wearing her pink glasses. Stinkin' cute. This is the same kind Miller will have, except his are a little more rectangular in shape and grey in color. The strange thing is that this is NOT a complication of prematurity or IVH in his case. Something else, too. Dr. Rainey SWEARS that his farsightedness showing up this early is a sign of intelligence! She told me that most kids don't show signs until after age two, many until 5+ because they don't know that how they are seeing something isn't right. The Strabismus is actually an accomodation that Miller was making on his own because his brain was telling his eyes that what he was seeing needed focus. She said that all of her patients in this situation are very smart, driven, kids that tend to have Type A personalities. I hope that's a good thing. She also said that it's very rare for it to show up this early and that the earlier it shows up, the smarter the kid. Whatever the case may be, I am glad we caught it. Without glasses, MLP would need surgery to correct the damage that would eventually be caused. From now on I am going to dress him like Carlton from the Fresh Prince. Lots of argyle, sweater vests, and the like.

So today Danny decided he needs glasses too and he went on down to frame store to pick some out. How ridiculously sweet and tender is that?? I could have melted. I promise to post again after his pedi appt with all his new stats. One last thing...he has two teeth!!! My little monkey is growing up so fast.

See you in 6 months

That's what Dr George, our pediatric neurosurgeon, said to me last Thursday afternoon after reviewing Miller's CT scan. He said MP's brain is growing and developing and there's no new injury, no evidence of hydrocephalus. The past 6 months have been a 'wait and see' period and Miller is doing great. The doc says he would expect a child 13+ weeks premature to have some developmental delays simply due to the fact that he wasn't done cookin'. So outside of the fact that he had a grade IV IVH, we're told that they'd expect him to be in a 3-6 month old range right now. With the IVH, well, nobody knows. In the beginning there was a lot of talk about CP, but right now we're just not seeing anything. It doesn't mean he won't ever be diagnosed with at least a mild case, but we'll cross that bridge if we ever come to it. ::big sigh of relief for now::

Miller just turned 8 months on the 23rd of December. Holy smokes. Time does fly. He's also 5 months, and according to Dr. George, he's 3-6 months. Whatever. It'll give you a headache if you think about it too hard. We're not even really focused on his age anymore. He does happen to fall somewhere in the 4-6 month range developmentally, and maybe an occasional sprinkle of 7 month old behavior here and there. The main thing is that he is changing and developing everyday. So our newest approach is not to worry unless he seems to stay the same for awhile, or show any signs of regression.

Here are some fun things he's doing now:

-Laugh/cry when he sees Momma or his bottle. He also does this if you ask him if he wants his momma or his bottle.

-Eating babyfood...no love for carrots, I'm afraid. He'll eat the sweet potatoes if they're warm, but he just spits the peas out. I think we've finally found something he inherited from his momma.

-Rolling over (still not back to front but we're close) and playing on his side.

-Sharpening his fine motor skills by grabbing dad's nose, or momma's whole face, hair, etc. Oh and toys too.

-Grabs on to dad's huge hand from a horizontal position and pulls himself up. He'll also pull himself up to a stand whether he'ss laying down or sitting.

-Ooching on his belly...not crawling, but not sitting still either. He's a man on the go!

-Learning to sit on his own...this will be awhile still but he's getting a lot better at it.

-Plays independently...but not for very long.

-Mirror time! Miller loves him some Miller. This is actually the secret weapon when he's cranky.

Can't forget social behavior...this kid can smile and he does it all the time. Especially at nurses. And my phone. In fact, if I get my phone out he spontaneously smiles. That's why I never post any 'serious' pictures. I can't get them anymore.

I was too nervous in the doc's office to remember MP's height, but he's taller. He weighs 16 lbs. And still no teeth. Poor little man.

He also loves to stand and bounce, and several games have been promptly invented from such behavior.

That's about all that's happening right now with Miller. We're still desperately trying to get our house together but we're under a bit of construction and waiting on furniture and such. We love our new 'hood though and can't wait for it to warm up a bit. Happy New Year!

No news is good news

We're moving tomorrow. This chapter's over and we're leaving our Central life behind to become West Austinites. We're very excited to begin a new adventure, now with Miller Lee in tow. Here's a photo of the house. See the bendy trees?


Well we went to see the doc last week for our sanity check and he said MP's doing great. In fact, he gained two pounds in two weeks. How this happened I haven't a clue, since at the previous visit he'd lost a pound over a period of a month or so. Miller also had a CT scan on Thursday. It was a scheduled follow up and was originally meant to be an MRI. When I called to confirm our appt I found out it was going to be another CT scan. I can't say for sure but my inkling is this is a positive thing, since MRI's are bigger and scarier and you have to be perfectly still. We somehow accomplished the scan with the wiggly worm wide awake, no sedation, no sleepy meds. We have not yet spoken with Dr. George but did get a call from his office. They used a lot of big words I can't remember, but basically it sounds like there's nothing really new or worrisome. But we'll see. We have an appt on the 27th.

With the exception of Miller's new and not improved schedule, things are great on the homefront. He's happy happy joy joy most of the time. He still loses it when we put him in the carseat but he's getting a teensy bit better. Teensy. He's trying really hard to crawl, but his arms & upper body are not ready yet. Miller however, is ready. So he army crawls and scoots on his belly and whines. He loves to stand on our laps, and when we pick him up his kicks like crazy. Late at night I'll get him up once to feed him and he'll hold his bottle. He's starting to reach and grab, and he'll bat something out of the way if it's bugging him. I'd have to say on the awesome scale it's a 10. I promised myself I would try to allow myself forget at least some of what they said in the hospital, but I just cannot help but look at this kid and think 'total miracle'. It gives me the chills and I get all teary-eyed and introspective. But it's true. I don't want to take any of this for granted. Miller is a miracle in the flesh. Period. Who knows what kind of 'arm' he'll have or how fast he'll be able to run? And who cares? He's an amazing little man who's taught me more about life in the past 7 1/2 months than I've learned in 33 years. He's my little mountain mover.

7 month update

Holy Moly! An update! I didn't mean for this much time to pass. Life has a way of sneaking past you, especially when you're all wrapped up in your little tater tot.

Miller is a little champ these days. He's just the happiest little man [except when he in his carseat] and full of smiles, giggles, belly laughs, and funny faces. He is rolling over constantly [tummy to back]. When we have tummy time I sometimes move all the toys to make room for his 'rolling alley' and then tempt him with whichever toy is catching his eye at the moment. He LOVES the mirror and is constantly cooing at himself in it. He is quite the little ham sandwich when the camera comes out, and he figured out that this face will get him what he wants.

Healthwise, Miller is doing doing great. We've been very careful, and I cringe whenever he sneezes. Still no teeth, but the teething behavior is persisting. Lots of drooling and biting, and occasionally some nighttime crankiness. We went to see the doc last week for his 7 month checkup and he had lost a little bit of weight. The doc says not to worry since he was on the chubby side, and that he's pretty much on target now. We go back this Friday for a sanity check. I'll get to weigh him again and the doc will give him the once over.

About a week ago Miller started eating rice cereal. This is how he looks every morning-

We finally closed on our house last week so we'll be moving soon. I can't wait to hang that Little Tikes swing in the tree we picked out for him. It's actually the perfect tree-climbing tree. And there are crooked bendy enchanted trees all throughout the front yard, perfect for Halloween spider webs, scarecrows, and Christmas lights. It's all very Two Cats in the Yard, even though our cats are dogs.

I almost forgot! The other baby Miller, 'Miracle Miller', was born on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. He's a beautiful, happy, healthy baby boy, and he's home safe with his parents! Congrats Matt + Dana! Welcome to the wonderful world of sleep deprivation :).

The Great Pumpkin

Miller's first trip to the pumpkin patch was this past Saturday. He was a total ham as always! Look for more photos in the slide show at the top of the blog.


Tomorrow we go back to see the doc for our official 6 month well check. I can't believe how quickly time passes, or how soon we forget. Just the other day I was looking back at some photos from when MP came home in July and it was so strange to see him so tiny, perpetually sleepy, hooked up to an apnea monitor and oxygen. Now he's all wonder and smiles. So expressive and always staring at our mouths. He's quite the communicator and I swear he's trying to repeat what we're saying. Especially if we're saying 'ooouuuuuaaahhh!'.


Last week we started our PT with Little Tesoros Therapy. They're so great! Anne is our PT and she's great with Miller. She's sweet and patient, and is giving me some great homework to help bring him up to speed. She says there are a few things that we need to work on but she's really impressed with his social skills ! Well that's probably hereditary. I spoke way too soon about the teething in the last post. He pretty much started the next day. The doc says it may come and go a couple of times before any teeth poke through. Poor little guy gets a bit cranky and bitey though so he's getting an occasional dropper full of Tylenol.


The pumpkin patch was a big outing for both Miller + momma. Normally Miller doesn't make it past the front yard or on a good day, the end of the street. The enclosed and crowded spaces are still a no-no for a bit longer. We have been so very lucky with his health these past 6 months and there's no reason to start taking chances now. We're following doctor's orders for those that think we may be a tad bit overprotective. That takes some sacrifice of course but it's short term in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully nobody thinks we left the country.


In other news-

Aunty Paula + Uncle Andy are having...a girl! In this family that's almost a miracle in itself with all this testosterone. Hooray for the girls team! I started boot camp yesterday so we'll see how that goes.


So far, all 2000 parts hurt. And I am limping. In December we are moving. Probably. We are known for changing our plans, but this time I think it's going to stick. And since DP wants to put a TV in every room (seriously), look for us to be hosting a Superbowl party this year. You may have to sit on lawn chairs but you'll be able to watch the game in the bathroom. A fair trade, Danny would say.


For those of you who remember us mentioning the other baby Miller, "Miracle Miller" DeLorenzo, he is still in his momma's cozy womb in week 31 and counting! Please continue to keep him in your prayers as well. One day we'll be posting photos of them playing together :). You can check on his progress by clicking HERE.


We miss and love you all, and know that we wouldn't be where we are without all of your prayers, so thank you.


Lots of love, (and now giggles) Stephanie, Danny & Miller Lee Peeps